Guatemala has a large indigenous Maya population speaking over 20 different languages, yet there are few healthcare services available in Mayan languages. This leads to widespread marginalization and health injustices for the Maya people, with poor health outcomes being the result of systemic inequalities. The Maya Health Alliance aims to address this through a community-based model of healthcare that incorporates Mayan storytelling and narratives to help heal patients and raise awareness of the issues facing the rural Maya population.

1. Peter Rohloff, MD PhD
Medical Director – Maya Health Alliance
Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
peter@mayahealth.org
www.mayahealth.org
Storytelling as Healing: Maya Health in
Rural Guatemala

2. Guatemala has a large Maya population (>20 languages)
There are no “services” in Mayan languages
Poor health is a nexus where many injustices converge –
“death” is the final common pathway of marginalization
Storytelling as Healing: Maya Health in
Rural Guatemala

3. www.wikipedia.org

4. Patients
No food
No work
No education Language barriers
Services
“Ignorant”
“Lazy”
“Unmotivated”
“Backwards”
“Rojöjmayab’ – ojmestan kan”

5. Patients DonorsService
Illness/Wellness
Narratives
Accompaniment
Education/Policy
Crowd-sourcing
Storytelling Storytelling

6. @watsi

8. Short Stories
Scale
Crowdfunding
Platforms
Serials
Insurance
Motivating the
Core
Long-form
Stories
Credibility
Research/Ethn
ography